Well, the Instinct, Intuition and the in-the-womb Insight have arrived in Austin, TX in one piece and slowly getting things going again. We arrived and unloaded the truck into a climate controlled storage facility until we can get our own place. Right now we are staying with a friend who has been very, very kind in opening up her home to us until we get some income going and can get settled in on our own.

Unloading the truck was interesting. I thought a 10 x 10 storage unit would be large enough, and it was… once we greased the walls to get it all in. Also, while we did get it all in there, I should have been more efficient about it all because I didn’t think as I put everything in “Gee, I might need to get this out. I should put it where I can reach it…” So now, I will have to go back in there and pull a whole bunch of stuff out just to find parts to my computer that I need as well as cables, some books and clothing.

Yeah, I’m brilliant sometimes.

I’ve put in a bunch of resumes for jobs, contacted some recruiters and thrown out applications all over the place so hopefully something will come up soon. Have an interview with Progressive Insurance on Monday, so I am happy about that and if I get it, I’ll also be trying to get a part time job as well just so there is some extra money coming in on top of it all. With a child on the way I get the feeling we will need as much money saved up as we can get.

The trip out was good but right now all the photos are trapped on our cameras until I can find what box the cables are in – yep, lots of digging to do,but in the mean time, I can still share this with you:

As we were visiting my parents my dad looked at me and the wife and said “Come out to the garage with me.”

Once we got out there he had me pull down a box from one of the top shelves and with that down he opened his gun safe, pulled out this replica of a 1897 Winchester, boxed it up and said “Put that in your truck next to the Remington.”

So now the wife has her shotgun. She fell in love with this at first sight so even if Dad meant it for me, it’s hers. And to be honest I think he meant it for her in the first place.

Today’s the day. We are finishing the load up and soon the computer will be in a box, the desk will be dismantled and given away (big, awkward to move and really, I just don’t like it) and everything will be inside the truck. Cat’s will be in crates with their new collars on (which Wicket is trying to get off as I type this) and nestled in the middle seat and off we will go!

In some ways it will be sad to say goodbye to Alameda, I kind of like this town. Oakland, San Francisco and most of the surrounding area can fall off into the ocean for all I care, but Alameda is pretty nice. It’s really just a small town crammed in between a bunch of big cities and all the bullshit that comes with them, but Alameda is nice place to live where I have met people that would fit in with any part of flyover country you could name. Somehow this little island has stayed a conservative haven in the middle of all the crazy. So yeah, part of me will miss it while the other part of me will be glad to get back to a place where cowboy boots are normal, country music is more common than rap, and wearing a Reagan for President shirt doesn’t get glares.

Or, “To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, you jackass”.

I don’t like bigots. I find them to be small minded, scared, ignorant people who take their fears out on a group simply because that group exists rather than because of anything that the group has done to the individual. Plus, you would think that at this point in the United States we would be somewhat past that kind of attitude but I guess not considering what Jennifer pointed me over to at Ambulance Driver’s place.

Now, I’m with Jennifer on this. I don’t think a company should be sued because they are bigots, nor do I think that there should be laws that force us all into the correct Orwellian thought model. Nope, I think everyone should be allowed to be as much a bigoted jackass as they want to – I just want to know so I won’t do business with them. Let their business model be supported by all their other fellow bigots, but as for me I’ll find someone else.

That is why if I EVER get our dream home built and have those granite counter tops installed in my dream kitchen my wife and I will be buying that material from almost any company BUT Southern Style Granite. Yep, I will take my dollars elsewhere and they can just go about their merry way.

Welcome to the wonderful world of the Internet Chris and Darren Cifreo. It used to be that you could be an ass and only a few people might know about it. Now though, you’re going to get all KINDS of exposure – and trust me, just because people are talking about you doesn’t mean it’s a good thing.

Pass it around, the only appropriate reaction to a bigot is to expose them to the world and shun them the way they shun others.